Cetus Rising - Act 1: Creation
by Apartion
Summary: The young world is left in disarray. Zodiark remains as the sole surviving esper loyal to the Gods. His burdens are many, and with the task of watching over the Mists' new prisoners added on, he is gifted with a new esper to assist him.
1. Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts

Ultima's rebellion had left guardianship of the world in disarray. The Scions of Light and Zodiark had fought long and hard against the Scions of Darkness and Ultima, and prevailed, though at a great cost.

The Scions of Light had sacrificed themselves to defeat the uprising, and only Zodiark was left alive and obedient.

The Gods imprisoned the Scions of Darkness and Ultima in the mists as an eternal punishment, bound to magical glyphs scattered across the world. And so, Zodiark remained the only demigod left on this planet.

His power was frightening, even at such a young stage in his life, and so the Gods kept him with the body and power of a child.

They dared not make another group of Espers, to prevent another rebellion, and so they gave to Zodiark absolute authority over the world.

His tasks were many, even now. With the other espers, he had overseen the growth and regulation of the world itself, and the task fell upon only him now, as well as the new task of watching over the mists, and ensuring it's prisoners never escaped.

But even as powerful as he was, Zodiark simply could not oversee the entirety of one world and another by himself, and so he cried out to the Gods.

"My masters! Your servant's strain is great - I cannot perform my duties alone!"

This call for help did not go unnoticed. The Gods were wary of making new espers, but under the watch of Zodiark, a single new servant was safe to be created, they decided.

Thus, a new Esper was created. As he awoke, this new guardian saw his serpent master, and was spoken to softly.

 ** _"Awaken, Netzach. Your brother welcomes you to the world."_**


	2. Netzach, the Watchful Guardian

**"Come, brother, come! You have only just arrived, but time is of the essence!"**

At Zodiark's behest, Netzach pulled himself up from laying on the ground and stood up.

He was tall, and humanoid in physical nature. His head was that of a dark gray wolf's, with glowing yellow-green eyes. His chest had fur of gray and white, and his arms were gray-furred transitioning to black downward.

He had two hands, four fingers and a thumb on both hands, with sharp claws at the end of each finger. His legs were of gray fur on the upper half, but transitioned to straight-legged black hooves, like that of a bull's.

Two horns stuck out from the backs of each shoulder, curving over them and downward in front of his chest until they reached his waist, giving him frontal protection of a sort.

Waiting for a response, Zodiark looked at Netzach in silence, hoping his new assistant could actually speak.

Luckily, he could. It took a moment, but Netzach spoke his first words:

 **"What... must I do?"** He asked slowly, in a deep and bold voice.

It was only after asking his first question that Netzach noticed his surroundings. He and Zodiark were on the peak of a large, snow-covered mountain, with a natural spiraling staircase leading into the mountain itself not far away from his position.

Zodiark began to float towards the staircase as he replied. **"I have but one task for you, if you will come with me."**

Netzach began slowly walking, and the two descended the staircase for what seemed like hours, in silence. As they went further into the depths of the mountain, the fresh air went away, the smell turned to that of sulfur, and the cold turned to heat.

Finally, they reached the bottom. This staircase apparently went through the entirety of the mountain, and into the ground further. Zodiark led him into a large circular-shaped room with glass embedded into the walls around them. Twelve of these windows adorned the walls, and were seemingly empty.

 **"What is this place, my master?"**

 **"I am not your master, I am your brother. And this... this is where you shall stay. Your task is to watch over these prisoners."**

Confused, Netzach approached the window at the center end of the room. **"But I see nothing."**

Zodiark cautioned Netzach from approaching quickly, and Netzach began to slowly approach the window. Peering in, the angry face of a blue-skinned woman wearing a large golden crown appeared.

Netzach stepped back instinctively, and looked towards Zodiark.

 **"That is your sister. Her name is Ultima."**

 **"My... Sister?"**

 **"... _Our_ sister, rather. She and the other eleven have been sentenced to eternal imprisonment in the realm of the mists."**

Looking back, the face disappeared into the fog within the glass.

 **"What have they done to warrant this?"**

Zodiark sighed, and looked at the windows to the left and right of Ultima's, before looking Netzach in the eyes.

 **"They did what we must never do: Disobey the masters."**

Furrowing his brow, Netzach walked into the center of the room. **"I must watch over these windows?"**

 **"Yes, it is imperative that you do so at all times. It was my task, but I am burdened with the world itself, and cannot effectively stand guard. This is why you were created, brother. I will visit you when I have the time, but it may be long whiles in-between."**

 **"Are you leaving now?"**

Nodding, Zodiark floated towards the staircase. **"Yes. I shall return when I am able to, but remember, you must always watch over these windows, and do _not_ let these prisoners sway you to their side."**

As Zodiark disappeared above the staircase, Netzach turned towards the center of the room, and looked at all of the windows. His long watch had just begun.


	3. The Fallen Scions

It had been six days since Zodiark left the mountain, and Netzach had committed himself to staying still, sitting in the middle of the room as to not draw the gazes of his brothers and sisters.

But he could not help but wonder who exactly his brethren were. He stood up, and resolved that he would speak to them, but as a prison guard rather than a relative.

He started with the first window at the back left part of the room. He approached it and the face of a large ram demon appeared, staring back at him.

 **"What do you want, slave of the Gods?"** The ram asked, in a deep and distorted voice.

 **"State your name, prisoner."**

With a loud grunt and snarl, the demon decided to oblige. **"I am Belias, the Gigas. And you, you are lucky that I am trapped in this wretched cage of fog and mist, or you would be watching your entrails spill out of your gut!"**

Shaking his head slowly, Netzach approached the next mirror on the right. A blue-skinned, tied-up woman appeared in the window, with a strange, faceless shape behind her.

 **"You-you must help me, _please!_ "** Cried the woman.

 **"Disregard her begging and pleading, she's quite fine where she is."**

The whisper belonged to the strange being behind the woman, and was spoken in a soft and double-toned voice, both high and low pitched.

 **"Who are you?"** Netzach demanded.

The woman sobbed, knowing the question was not meant for her.

 **"I am Mateus, and this? Well, I'm not even quite sure what her name is. But she makes for interesting company..."**

Disgusted, Netzach left for the next window. Peering in, a green goat's face with horns curving back appeared.

 **"Before you ask, I will tell you that I am Adrammelech, and I am known as the Wroth. You, are Netzach from what I overheard days ago, and you seem to be a reasonable esper. Perhaps you could let me out, and I could assist you in your endeavors? I assure you, I would be no harm to you or Zodiark."**

 **"Your desperation is shameful, creature."** Netzach said, dismissing the Wroth's suggestion as he went for another window.

This time, a skull with horns appeared in the glass, and the silent cries of a woman that Netzach could not see were heard.

 **"State your name, demon."**

 **"I am Zalera, the Death Seraph, and I assure you, someday I will find a way out of this prison, and when I do, I will drain you of your blood and feast on your bones!"**

 **"I'll keep that in mind."** Netzach huffed, moving along.

In this window, a red-skinned woman's face appeared, covered from the mouth down by a black cloth. She had white hair, and red horns with black stripes.

 **"Who are you?"**

 **"Someone who would swear fealty to you when my sentence is complete. You were chosen for this task instead of Zodiark's others - You must be more powerful than him, yes?"**

The voice was soft and nasally, slightly seductive but still pitiful when paired with the words that were chosen. He would have to admit to himself, the thought that she provoked occurred, though only for a split second. He would not betray Zodiark or the Gods. That was simply not who he was.

 **"I want your name, not your oath."**

 **"Yes, yes, of course. I am Shemhazai, and I do hope you will consider my pledge, later on."**

He neared the front and middle mirror, but knew who resided within. He did not want to face her yet, and so went to the back-right corner of the room.

Staring back at him was a spiked, black and blue damaged-looking face. It simply watched him as he attempted to interrogate it, and growled.

Realizing the futility of trying to talk with this esper, he moved on. And now he saw a face that he truly wished he could forget - A fattened green face with a large sadistic grin on it.

 **"Oh, don't mind old Zeromus over there, he's rightly upset that he's been locked up like that, ha ha ha! And you won't get much from Famfrit on my right, he's never really talked at all. Oh and me, I'm Cuchulainn, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, wolf-sir."**

 **"You are the most disgusting thing I've ever seen."**

 **"Ah, yes, well I've put on some pounds, but I was a nice looking lad back in the day."**

 **"I'm sure."** Netzach said, rolling his eyes. He walked past this next window and saw a blue and gold helmeted face simply staring at him in silence. In the one he stopped at, a humanoid face with lion-like features and white fur looked at him.

 **"State your name."**

 **"I am Hashmal, the Bringer of Order, second only to Ultima and one of the most powerful beings you will ever set eyes on. I will not threaten to kill you when I have left this prison, but I suggest that you make a pact with Ultima and be on my side, because when we are free, we will win the next war. You seem like someone who'd prefer to be on the winning side."**

Blocking out the suggestive speech thrown at him, Netzach closed his eyes as he stood in front of the center window.

 **"Now, now, don't be shy, dear."**

Opening his eyes, he saw her once more. Ultima stared at him, with a slight seductive smile on her face.

 **"You are Ultima."**

 **"I am. I also see that you've met our brothers and sisters... Not the perfect group, but they're loyal... as could you be."**

 **"I will not be turned to your cause, witch."**

 **"Oh, you hurt me. I am no witch... I am the High Seraph! You speak to one whom the Gods themselves fear. Tell me, what do you get out of watching us for Zodiark? Boredom? Perhaps a nice compliment every few months when he comes back around for a day or so. Really, you could do better."**

 **"If I tried to do your definition of 'better', I would be in a thirteenth looking glass in this very room."**

Ultima chuckled softly. **"Do you know what happened to put us in here? How we came to be trapped in the mists? Well, it's quite a story."**

He didn't want to listen to her, but he wanted to know what exactly they had done. He looked at her silently, listening.

 **"Both ears open? Good. You see, our creators, the Gods, they couldn't be bothered with the tasks that needed to be done on this world. Me and Zodiark, we presided over our brethren. I the scions of Light, and he the scions of Dark. But the Gods did not reward us for our work, and I knew we were better than they if they put the hard work on us.**

 **I tried to convince the scions of Light to join my cause in fighting against the tyranny, but they were too self-righteous, too dull to realize I was right. The scions of Dark knew their superiority was right, save for Zodiark. He simply would not budge. So, we took our fight to the heavens, and my idiotic brethren fought us. Had it not been for them killing themselves just to put us in here, we would be at home in the high heavens, on thrones of gold and silver, with crowns upon our heads.**

 **You could be at my left side, as Hashmal is at my right. All you would have to do is let us out... a simple task, really. You would be in no harm, and the world would be in better hands."**

Shaking his head as he snapped out of the trance Ultima seemed to be putting him in with her promises of power and glory, Netzach turned around and walked back to the middle of the room. He sat down, facing away from Ultima.

 **"The offer's always good, dear. Simply come to me and let me know you've decided to do the right thing, and we'll set this world straight."**


End file.
